When We Were Young
by HNfan1992
Summary: Nikki's past from "The Lost Child" - What happened when she ran away? Features Harry and Nikki as teenagers, then later back to present time. A bit AU but go with it, it works out in the end! Harry/Nikki of course.
1. Running Away

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 1 – Running Away**

**Set during the episode 12.09 and 12.09 – The Lost Child. Nikki reveals how big a part Noel Hopkins played towards her becoming a pathologist, and surprisingly a certain male doctor had a hand in it too... Harry/Nikki as teenagers then later on.**

**Has a bit of an AU feel to it, I was trying to be creative lol **

**Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Unfortunately. BBC owns it all **

Harry looked up from the book he was leafing through as Nikki came into the library. Something was wrong and Harry knew better than to pry, but Nikki seemed willing to talk about it.

"Harry, do you think I'm cynical?" She asked.

Harry surveyed her with affection. "I think it's a miracle you're not more cynical," he said honestly, closing the book and leaning back against the bookcase.

There was a silence, in which Nikki seemed so vulnerable to Harry. He wanted to comfort her, to put his arms around her and tell her everything would be alright, but Nikki's body language clearly told him to stay away and so he let her talk.

"He saved me, you know," she said. "I ran away from school." Harry didn't say anything so she continued. "When my mother died, my dad sent me to a comprehensive in Guildford. I wasn't very happy, I caught a train to London..."

* * *

A blonde 15 year old slowly made her way to the front of the queue and smiled shyly at the ticket man. He raised his eyebrows behind the screen and asked Nikki where she was going. "Where you off to, love?" he asked.

Nikki thought quickly. She hadn't thought this far ahead when she left school – all she knew was that she'd been on her way to the canteen for lunch when Ryan Turner, the hunk in the year above her, had nudged his mate and the two of them had looked at her, laughing. Nikki couldn't cope with it; she'd been trying to fit in for 3 weeks and she still hadn't made any friends or even talked to anyone. Everyone thought she was the weird girl from Africa who lived alone with her father and just let her be. So Nikki, not really thinking, just desperate to get away from it all, had walked out of the canteen, out of the school and had ended up in Guildford Station.

She caught sight of the screen behind the ticket guy and noticed the next train arrived in 5 minutes. "Kings Cross, please," she said, handing him some money. "One way."

The ticket guy plugged some numbers into his machine and a few seconds later the ticket popped out. "There you go, love," he said, nodding at her. "Have a safe trip."

Nikki nodded, took her ticket and started to walk towards the platform. Once standing there, waiting for the train, an older man who'd been behind her in the queue came up to her.

"Do you want a sweet?" he asked her.

Nikki stared at him for a moment. "No, thank you," she said politely and walked a way off. She could feel him looking at her but she ignored him and was thankful when the train came.

She entered a half full carriage and sat down by the window. She saw the older man sit across the aisle from her but, not wanting to engage in conversation, she blocked him out of her mind and stared aimlessly out of the window.

Nikki had been on the train for about ten minutes when it made a stop and a few more people came into the carriage. A boy a couple of years older than Nikki surveyed the seats and, seeing a group of four seats with both the window seats taken, one by a middle aged woman with a large pile of files and one by a blonde, sad-looking girl, sat down in the seat next to the blonde. She stared at him for a minute and he smiled at her.

"Hi," he said.

Nikki was surprised. None of the boys at her school had looked twice at her since she started and, always a bit shy, she felt flattered by the attention. So she smiled back at the boy. He was quite nice to look at, too – he had black hair which looked as though it had been cut recently and was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt, but what Nikki noticed was his eyes. They were so full of expression and Nikki felt herself immediately drawn to them.

"Hey," she said back quietly. The train began to move off again and she and the boy smiled at each other awkwardly.

"Where you going?" asked the boy.

"London, Kings Cross," said Nikki. She paused, waiting for him to say something else but he didn't. So she made conversation. "You?"

"Ah, just the stop before," said the boy, a twinkle starting to form in his eye, a sign to anyone that knew him that this meant he was at ease with his companion. "Interview for University."

Nikki was impressed. "What University?" she asked, sitting up straighter and crossing her legs towards the boy.

The boy tilted his head. "London College of Fashion," he said, putting his hand on his hip in a floppy manner.

"Oh," said Nikki. So that was why he was being nice to her – he wasn't interested in that way.

The boy saw he'd got her by the look on her face. "Just joking," he said, taking his hand down again and turning towards her. "It's an interview for a medical course at UCL. I want to become a doctor."

Nikki smiled, realising he liked a laugh. That was alright, so did she. "Cool," she said. "That sounds fun!"

"What, the interview or the course?" asked the boy.

"The course, of course," grinned Nikki. "I don't envy you the interview!"

The boy smiled flirtatiously at her. "Oh, I'm not worried, I'll just impress them with my good looks and charm..."

Nikki burst into laughter and poked him shyly in the ribs. He poked her back and they began to talk – nothing too personal, though, just about the weather, the train, London – things that bonded them together, without sharing too much detail with someone they barely knew.

"I'm the next stop," said the boy eventually, starting to gather up his gum wrappers.

Nikki leaned back. "Right," she said, looking at him.

The boy seemed to understand. "Can I get your number?" he asked.

Nikki considered. What had she got to lose? "Alright," she said. She looked at the woman opposite her for a moment. When the woman looked up she said, "Sorry, could I borrow your pen for a second please?"

The woman handed her the pen and Nikki picked up the last gum wrapper. She scribbled down her number, folded the piece of paper up then gave it to the boy, handing the woman back her pen. As the train came to a halt, the boy stood up and looked at Nikki, a mischievous look in his eye.

"We'll talk?" asked Nikki, trying to sound nonchalant.

The boy's mouth twitched. "Maybe, maybe not," he said and, without looking back, left the train.

Nikki watched him walk down the platform to the exit before they train moved off again. It had been nice, to finally chat to someone her own age who didn't laugh and point when they saw her. Or was it? She still wanted to get away, where no one would find her. She just had to get away from her father and the bloody comprehensive and its snotty head, Mr Noel Hopkins. Hopefully she'd find somewhere in London to stay and that would be that.

However, as the train drew into Kings Cross, Nikki realised how vulnerable she was. She cautiously stood up and the older man, who'd been sitting opposite her and the boy the whole journey, rubbed her arm. "Need a hand?" he asked.

Nikki nodded gratefully. She wasn't naive, she knew (subconsciously at least) what he wanted, but it was so nice to have someone care about her that she accepted his help. She followed him out of the train and along the platform to where there was a little cafe with chairs and tables outside. The man put her bag down by one of the tables and pulled out a chair for her to sit on, which she accepted.

"You can call me Paul," he said, a grin on his face. "Do you want a coffee?"

Coffee sounded great to Nikki, who hadn't had anything since breakfast. "Could I have a sandwich too?" she asked quietly.

Paul rubbed her arm again. "Of course you can. Now, you stay here and I'll be back out in a minute." He disappeared into the cafe and Nikki shivered, partly from cold but mostly from fear. She was alone in a city she barely knew and she'd better stick close to Paul. He seemed nice enough and he'd protect her.

Paul came back out carrying a tray, on which there was two large mugs of coffee, a plate of sandwiches, two packets of crisps and a large slice of chocolate cake. "Dig in, sweetheart!" he said.

As they ate, Nikki found herself growing uneasy. This man was being very kind to her, but whenever he started to make a move she asked for more food or drink. She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling she should stay right where she was for as long as possible.

Eventually though, Paul stood up and handed her her bag. "Come on, let's go back to my place," he said. He walked up the platform and Nikki was just about to follow him when she saw a man step off the just-arrived train, look up and down hurriedly and run towards her in relief when he saw her. It was Mr Hopkins, her head teacher.

"Nikki Alexander!" he called out to her. Nikki saw him and the fears she'd been holding back since she left the school caught up with her. The minute Noel put his arm around her she started to weep.

Noel started to talk. "When you didn't turn up for register I called the police," he said soothingly. "They said somebody had reported a young girl with a dodgy-looking older man in that cafe there." He pointed towards the cafe where Nikki and Paul had been sitting. "When they described you, I got straight on the train."

Nikki's sobs began to subside and she sniffed and looked up at him. "Thank you," she said in a small voice.

Noel guided her to a bench. "Alright then? We're going to get you back to school, you're going to promise me nothing like this will ever happen again and then you're going to go home to your father. He's really worried about you, Miss Alexander."

Nikki groaned inwardly. "I bet he is," she said sarcastically. Noel didn't ask so she didn't expand. "Let's face the music then."

During the train ride back to Guildford, Nikki didn't say anything. She'd set out wanting to punish everyone, including her dad, and now she was the one who'd been punished. Life was a funny thing. All thoughts of the boy she'd met forgotten, she nodded off to sleep in Mr Hopkins' arms and didn't even wake until they were back at the school. Then she went home to her dad.

**Okay, first chapter! What did you think? The boy will make an appearance in the next chapter so keep reading – hope you're enjoying it!**


	2. An Escape From It All

**When We Were Young **

**Chapter 2 – Escaping It All**

**Aw, thank you for your lovely reviews! I'm glad you seem to be enjoying it **** This chapter might be a bit of a shock, I considered rating it M but decided it was alright as T, edited a little! I think there will be one more chapter after this, as I'm not one for writing long multi chapter fics. Anyway thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this one as much as the first!**

Nikki sat at her desk in her little room in the attic, silent with thought. It had been a week since she'd met Paul in London, and the funny guy on the train, and she hadn't thought about either of them – Paul because she'd closed it up in a little box in her brain, never to be opened, and the boy because... well, Nikki didn't really know why. It had been a week and he hadn't called, so he obviously wasn't into her, but although she didn't really care, she'd been called 'the Virgin Mary' at school again that morning, by none other than Ryan Turner, and she was desperate to make it stop. So a call from a nice boy would have probably cheered her up. Maybe.

Pushing these thoughts from her mind, Nikki shook her hair and stared down at her maths book. But what was the point? She could do these sums in her head – a class of 15 year olds, just starting to learn about quadratic equations? It was ridiculous – when she'd left South Africa they'd been doing trigonometric graphs and differentiation. Oh well.

"Dinner's ready, Niks!" called her dad. Nikki sighed. Great – another meeting with her father, who had, since discovering of her attempt to run away, been overly nice to her, but Nikki got the feeling it was all a facade. He didn't know how to act around her and, although putting in half an effort, was starting to really bug Nikki.

She made her way downstairs in silence and poured herself a glass of water before picking up the plate of chips, peas and sausages.

"I'm eating in my room," she said on her way out of the door. Viktor said nothing, didn't even seem to really notice.

She cleared a space on her desk and aimlessly shovelled the food into her mouth. As she was just finishing, the phone rang and Viktor's voice came up the stairs.

"Niks? It's a boy for you."

Nikki groaned to herself. Why did Ryan have to call her at home to give her abuse? It wasn't like he didn't do it enough at school. He just couldn't leave her alone.

"What?" she asked bluntly, desperate to get it over with.

"You sound perky!" came a different voice.

Nikki frowned. "Who is this?" she asked.

There was a short silence. "We met on the train last week?" said the boy. "Between Guildford and London?"

Nikki couldn't believe he'd actually called!

"Oh, hi," she said. "I hoped you'd call." That part wasn't completely a lie.

She could sense the boy grinning. "Were you now?" he asked.

"Maybe," replied Nikki. She could play at this game just as well as he could.

"So you want to meet up?" he asked. "How's tomorrow?"

Nikki breathed. "Sounds good," she said. "When and where?"

"Guildford station? I'll get the train; it'll get in at 7.30pm."

"See you then," said Nikki and clicked down the phone before he could say anything else.

As Nikki lay in bed that night, she was thinking about the boy. She'd show the kids at school that she was no Virgin Mary – she was just like them and she'd do what it took to fit in. With the thought of being able to lead a normal life, Nikki drifted off to sleep without her usual tossing and turning for hours on end, and, although she couldn't explain why, she felt as though she finally had something to look forward to.

* * *

Nikki shook her blonde hair out behind her as she walked along to the train station, earning herself a honk from a white van and a slick look-up from a group of college boys walking towards her. It gave her confidence for what she was about to do and when she reached the station, although it was already dark, she could easily make out the figure with black hair and a rucksack hitched onto his shoulder, waiting for her. She crept up behind him and poked him in the ribs, making him turn round with a frown before he realised it was her.

"Hiya!" he said, looking her up and down and subconsciously tilting his head towards her. "You look different! Now I'd hardly know you were at school, I'd think you were at nursery!"

Nikki heard this last bit and smacked him lightly on the arm. "You're awfully rude, you know," she said as they fell into step next to each other. "Are you always this mean to strangers?"

"Not at all," said the boy. "You, however, are most certainly not a stranger so I am completely justified in poking fun at you. And it's nice to be able to do it to someone who talks back."

Nikki wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment or not. "Um," she said, glancing at him before walking on again. "So, um, what do you want to do?"

The boy rubbed his stomach dramatically. "I'm starving. I don't suppose you have any food here in town do you?"

"Of course we do," said Nikki, laughing again. "Come on, fish and chips this way," and she pulled him towards the chippy.

The boy bought two fishcakes, a piece of cod and a jumbo bag of chips. As they were leaving the cafe, a group of Year 12s from Nikki's school saw her and wolf whistled. "Ooh, Mary!" they called, the girls giggling. "Who's your brother?"

Nikki ignored them and guided Harry out. "Come on, let's go back to mine. My dad's away for a couple of nights, we'll have the place to ourselves and it's free of jerks like them."

The boy nodded and followed her. He wanted to ask about it but didn't know how and besides, this girl didn't seem to want to talk about it. So he engaged her back into conversation with bad jokes and digs at her school uniform, just concentrating on each minute as it came, and that seemed to work for her as well. So everything was cool.

Nikki listened to the boy's jokes, laughed at them, even shot a few comebacks at him, but her mind was really on other things. She had a point to prove and, although of course she wanted it for herself as well, she was going to prove it, whether they liked it or not. She was a woman now and could make her own decisions.

When they got back to Nikki's, the boy dumped the chips on the table and walked over to the stereo system. "Got anything good?" he asked, searching through the CD collection.

Nikki shrugged. "You'll be lucky," she said, grabbing her fishcake and flopping down onto the sofa. "It's all my dad's stuff. So mostly really crap stuff."

The boy turned to look at her and grinned. "Right, radio it is," he said and cranked it up to a high level. Nikki grinned and pulled him down onto the sofa.

They'd finished most of the chips when the boy got up. "Got any drink?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.

Nikki knew what he meant. "My dad's an alcoholic," she said, walking over to Viktor's drinks cupboard. "Take your pick, he'll never notice."

"Great." The boy grinned and picked up a six pack of beer. "What'll you have?"

Nikki looked at him for a second then started to laugh. Grabbing the beer out of his hands, she went back to the living room and handed him one before downing one herself. The boy downed his two and held out his hand for another. Nikki gave him one willingly.

An hour later they'd moved onto harder stuff and string words together was becoming an effort for Nikki. "You hungry?" she asked slowly, looking at him through her heavily lined eyes.

The boy nodded. "So hungry," he said and leaned over so their faces were inches apart.

"Good," said Nikki, her head spinning. Then the boy pulled her onto him and pushed his tongue into her mouth.

No novice to this, and by this time too drunk to care, Nikki kissed him back desperately, clinging onto him to get as deep down his throat as she could. His body was on top of hers on the sofa and as she ran her hands over his back, now stripped of its leather jacket, he slipped his under her shirt and up north. It felt so good to be wanted, or needed, in this way so Nikki didn't object but responded by tugging his shirt out from his jeans and hastily unbuttoning it. Quickly catching on, the boy shrugged it off himself and his hands went back up to Nikki's chest. Soon they were in their underwear and the boy sat back to survey his prize.

"Nice body," he said. Nikki blushed crimson. "Shut up," she said, reaching out for him. The boy grinned and leaned forwards to kiss her hard and reached up to undo her bra, which she slipped off and it found its way through the air to land on top of the TV.

It didn't last long and afterwards Nikki and the boy lay next to each other in silence on the tiny sofa.

"I'd better go," said the boy at last. Nikki nodded and tried to sit up but her head was spinning so she lay back down again. The boy was wobbly too but seemed to snap back into his jokey persona, but definitely more pronounced than before, due to the large amounts of alcohol he'd consumed.

"Thaaank youuu," he slurred, putting his jacket back on and lacing up his shoes.

Nikki nodded, her eyes, starting to close.

"What's your name?" he asked, giggling at the sound of what he'd said, considering the activity they'd just finished.

"Nikki," murmured Nikki. She didn't ask for his and he didn't give it to her.

"Great name," said the boy. He paused in the doorway, a sunny smile on his face, and struggled to make out the nearly sleeping girl on the sofa. "I won't remember that in the morning."

"Just go," said Nikki, curling up under a blanket. The boy nodded and, still giggling about something apparently extremely funny, like the colour of the walls perhaps, let himself out and let the door bang behind him. Nikki let her mind go, doing her best to forget what had happened, and immediately fell asleep with no thoughts on what had just occurred.

* * *

Nikki woke the next morning with a splitting headache. It was already five minutes after she was supposed to have been at school and, although she considered taking a sickie, she thought, '_what would be the point?_' and, taking a large Aspirin pill, she got dressed and grabbed her school bag before making her way to school.

Walking the ten minutes to the comprehensive, Nikki's head was throbbing. All thoughts of the night before had gone and she knew she would never, ever think about it again, even if she wanted to. Because she'd forgotten it, all of it, and as far as she was concerned it need never arise again. End of.

The effects of the alcohol were taking their toll and as she approached the doors, Mr Hopkins came out to her.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Alexander," he said. Nikki groaned. "I'll take that as a "Alright, sir, I'd love to come for a chat in your office," he said. Too tired to argue, Nikki followed him into his office and sat down on a hard backed chair. It felt remarkably good.

"Are you alright, Nikki?" asked Hopkins.

Nikki shrugged. "I'm just a bit tired, sir," she said and attempted a smile.

Mr Hopkins gave her long chat and as Nikki started to look at the clock, 25 minutes later, he realised he'd gone off on a tangent. "Sorry, Miss Alexander. I got carried away."

Nikki shrugged. "No problem, sir."

"So, you promise me you'll work hard? Get your exams and go to a good Uni? You're a bright girl, Nikki, and I hate to see so much potential go to waste. So promise me. Okay?"

Nikki was touched. "I promise, sir," she said quietly.

Noel nodded for her to go but she didn't move. "Sir?" she said slowly. "I think I want to become a doctor."

Mr Hopkins, although surprised, knew she needed his approval. "That's fantastic, Nikki. I'll be here to help you all the way." He held her gaze then walked over to open the door. He tilted his head towards the corridor. "Now, out!" he said with a friendly smile on his face, and Nikki went off to her next lesson with a good feeling, knowing she now had a chance to make everything alright again.

**Ah it was so hard to write that sex scene in such a brutal way! I could easily have taken liberties but decided not to, for our younger readers... anyway review!**


	3. Revelation

**When We Were Young **

**Chapter 3 - Revelation**

Nikki trailed off, staring thoughtfully at the shelf behind Harry. Her eyes were watery and Harry longed to reach out to her, but the sinking feeling in his heart told him not to.

"So, you never heard from the guy again?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

Nikki didn't seem to sense anything. "No," she said, looking at Harry. "I didn't want to. Much as I regret how it happened, it was what I needed at that time. I wish I'd got his name though..." she stopped mid-sentence and Harry knew it had to be done.

"Nikki..." he said quietly.

Nikki looked up. "Yes?"

"No, I mean Nikki. That was the girl's name."

Nikki looked at Harry as though he'd gone crazy. "Yes, it was me. My name is Nikki." She realised he was staring at her. "Harry?"

Harry swallowed. "It was the name of a girl I slept with 18 years ago..."

There was a deathly silence while Nikki processed this information. "You mean...?" she said.

Harry nodded, unblinkingly. "Yup."

Nikki continued to look at him and Harry felt apprehensive. What had they done?

After a minute Nikki spoke, looking at the floor. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked quietly.

Harry looked away from her, out towards the offices. "Honestly, Nikki, I only realised as you were telling the story. I was so pissed that night, I haven't remembered it since it actually happened, and even then nothing really registered."

Nikki looked up from her spot on the floor and glared at him. "That memorable am I?" she said, managing to inject a gallon of anger into those four quiet words.

He reached out to rub her arm but she wrenched it away from him. "Of course you're not!" Harry said, his voice starting to rise. "Come on, Nikki! We were teenagers! Can't we just forget it?"

Nikki stared at him incredulously. "Forget it?" she said loudly, "_Forget it?_"

Harry sighed - he hadn't meant it to sound like that. "No, that's not what I mean, what I mean is-"

"Harry? Can you come and look at these skin samples?" called Leo, appearing round the corner of the shelf. Harry and Nikki looked at him like rabbits caught in the headlights.

"Screw you, Harry," said Nikki venomously, pushing past him with tears in her eyes. She rushed past Leo and Harry saw her pause just long enough to grab her coat and bag before dashing out of the lab. Probably to see Noel, thought Harry resentfully. How he wished he could have taken back the last couple of minutes. It had been so tempting to leave her on oblivion, but he couldn't do that to her – she was his best friend whom he loved dearly, sometimes too dearly, and he couldn't do that to her. Although he hated to see her this hurt and this angry at him, he felt a slight weight drop off his chest that had accumulated there while Nikki rattled off her story, unable to stop.

He sighed and tilted his head up to the ceiling before catching sight of Leo watching him. Leo closed the folder and held it between crossed arms, his face concerned. "Everything alright?" he asked.

Harry looked at him, eyebrows raised. Leo didn't need him to say anything else. "Okay, well, can I do anything to help?"

"No thank you, mate. I think she needs a bit of time. I'll try to talk to her later." Harry started to walk towards the office area with Leo. "So, what's up with these?"

The two sat down to analyse the skin samples, of Michael Edwards and some unknown skin cells, and it provided a welcome distraction for Harry. For the rest of the afternoon he concentrated on his work, putting all thoughts of Nikki and Noel Hopkins to the back of his mind. It was the only way.

* * *

Nikki was just about to turn the TV on and curl up on the sofa with a blanket and cup of hot chocolate when the doorbell rang. Hoping it wasn't who she thought it was, but knowing she should answer it in case it was urgent, she padded to the door in her pyjamas and slippers and had a look through the peephole. Sure enough, it was Harry.

Although her mind was screaming at her to leave him standing out there, somehow Nikki opened the door a crack and stood with her arms folded, leaning against the doorframe. Harry tried to step through the threshold but she stepped in front of the door protectively and gave him a look which clearly told him to stay put.

Harry's shoulders dropped. He knew he deserved it but all he wanted was for things to go back to normal, how they'd been before Mr Noel Hopkins arrived on the scene and brought back all those unpleasant memories to Nikki.

"Please, Nikki. We need to talk."

Nikki shook her head, her hair coming out of the loose ponytail she'd had it in. "I don't think so," she said coldly, shaking her hair completely free and surveying Harry. "You shouldn't be here. Why don't you just go."

She made to close the door but Harry stopped her. "Come on Nikki, talk to me. Please."

Nikki looked at him but didn't say anything. Harry took this as a good sign and continued. "I mean it. I'm so sorry for that night, honestly I am, and of course I regret it too, but we can't let it ruin our friendship. You're too important to me, Nikki. I know we share too many bad jokes and make out like we hate each other, but I love you Nikki and I can't let what we have go over something that happened nearly two decades ago." He paused for breath. "Please?"

Nikki considered for a moment but was swayed when Harry held up a bottle of wine. "Fine," she said, and turned around and went into the kitchen. Harry closed the door behind him and followed her.

Nikki was cradling her hot chocolate at the kitchen table. Harry placed the wine in the middle and sat down at the corner next to Nikki. She wasn't looking at him.

"Nikki?" he asked.

Nikki glanced up. "I don't know what to say, Harry," she said quietly.

"Right," answered Harry. They sat in loud silence for a few minutes, both thinking what they wanted to say to each other. Finally Harry couldn't bear it any longer.

"Nikki, I take complete responsibility for what happened," he said honestly.

Nikki looked up at him. "You don't have to."

"Yeah, I kind of do," said Harry, hoping she was beginning to come around. She had to.

"No you don't. I was so desperate to prove a point, to punish everyone for my shitty life that I just jumped into bed with the first guy that came along. I probably would have slept with Noel if he'd given me the chance."

Harry suppressed a small smile. "I doubt that."

Nikki looked at him sideways. "I would have. I just... I just needed to be wanted. And I felt that it was something I had to do. Now, I don't know if it was because I really wanted to have sex or if I just wanted it because I thought it would make me fit in... but, if you look at it, it got me where I am today."

Harry realised that was true. "Okay, so..." he said but Nikki wasn't done. "And, is it just me, or has there always been a special bond between us?" she asked.

Harry considered it. "Just god given talent baby," he drawled in an American twang.

Nikki couldn't help the little giggle that escaped. This gave Harry the courage he needed. "Yeah, there's always been a bond," he said, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Nikki shivered slightly in her pyjamas and Harry got to his feet. "Come on, we need to wrap you up." Nikki tried to protest but Harry made her go to the sofa where she put on her dressing gown. Then he poured two glasses of wine and, sitting down beside her on the sofa, handed her one. She sipped it slowly, processing the events of the day.

"Does Leo know about this?" she asked suddenly.

"What? Of course not," said Harry. Under Nikki's curious gaze he relented. "Well, he obviously knows something's up after he caught us fighting this afternoon, but I wasn't really in a mood to talk about it."

Nikki nodded. "I don't want him to know. I'm so ashamed of it."

Harry touched Nikki's knee. "Hey, you know it's not your fault?"

Nikki tipped her head to the side, but this did not stop Harry. "No, I mean it. You didn't stop me, but I should have known better than to take advantage. I just fancied the pants off you, and that was how I tried to express it." He put both their wine glasses on the coffee table.

Nikki blushed. "You fancied the pants off me?"

Harry instantly regretted saying that. "Well, you were quite the babe... then," he added. Nikki laughed and hit him lightly on the arm.

"Yeah, shame you lost your good looks!" she grinned.

Harry let out a laugh too and took her hands. "So we're okay?" he asked, searching her eyes with his.

Nikki gave in. "Yeah, we're okay," she said.

Harry heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank God!" he murmured and he leant forward to pull Nikki into a tight hug. She buried her head in his jumper and he kissed the top of her head then rested his cheek on top of her.

They stayed like that for minutes before Nikki slowly pulled back to look into Harry's eyes. "Did you mean it?" she asked.

"Mean what?"

"What you said earlier, on the doorstep..."

Harry reddened slightly (or at least, as much as Harry ever did). "You mean, that I love you?"

"Yeah."

Harry held her gaze. "Of course I did," he said quietly.

Nikki flushed. "Oh." She didn't know what to say. Was she ready to reveal herself like that, considering the events of the day? "I forgive you," she said.

Harry nodded happily and leant forward for another hug but Nikki tilted her head up so her lips were inches from his. When he raised his eyebrows she smirked. "Well, we wouldn't want to let our special bond go to waste now, would we?" she asked slyly.

Harry smiled. "Nope," he said and slowly brushed his lips against hers. When she responded tenderly he deepened the kiss, his tongue touching hers and the kiss becoming more passionate.

Then Nikki pulled back and Harry looked at her questioningly. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Nikki, stroking his hair with her left hand. "I just want to make sure this time."

"Of course," said Harry. "It needs to be right."

Nikki smiled affectionately. "Thanks," she said. She paused. "It's what I need."

"Sure," answered Harry. "I just want what's best for you. After all, I do owe you one." He grinned to let her know he was joking and Nikki pulled him into another hug. All thoughts of Noel Hopkins and that dreadful part of her life gone, she reached up to kiss Harry again. He caressed her cheek softly as they kissed and when he drew back for air Nikki rested her forehead against his. "I love you too, Harry," she whispered.

Harry stood up and pulled her into a searing kiss in response. Nikki ran her hands up and down his body for a moment then turned and disappeared into her bedroom. Harry hesitated for the splittest of seconds then followed her. Now everything was good again and he and Nikki were about to embark on the best journey they'd ever made.

_The End_

**Argh!!! Well I got that done at least. I couldn't get the right ring to it, though not for want of trying! But anyway I hope you enjoyed this trip down Flashback Lane! Review!**


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